Blocking a selected port prior to installation of an application

ABSTRACT

An installer application implemented in a computational device receives a command to install a test application in the computational device. The installer application determines whether a selected port of a plurality of ports of the computational device is to be blocked prior to installing the test application in the computational device. In response to determining that the selected port is to be blocked prior to installing the test application in the computational device, the installer application blocks the selected port, installs the test application by binding a socket to the selected port of the plurality of ports, and tests functions of the test application by executing one or more code paths of the test application, in response to installing the test application.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/700,539filed Feb. 4, 2010, wherein application Ser. No. 12/700,539 isincorporated herein b reference in its entire

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The disclosure relates to a method, a system, and a computer programproduct for blocking a selected port prior to installation of anapplication.

2. Background

Functions performed by an application may have to be tested on acomputational device. The application whose functions are tested may bereferred to as a test application. The test application may beimplemented via code, wherein various code paths may be executed whenthe code is executed within the computational platform. Prior to testingthe functions performed by the test application, the test applicationhas to be installed in the computational platform. An installerapplication maintained in the computational platform may install thetest application.

The computational device on which the functions of the test applicationare tested may include a plurality of ports. When an application isinstalled in the computational device, a port of the plurality of portsmay be bound to a socket, and the port may be used for communicationswith the application.

SUMMARY OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Provided are a method, a system, and a computer program product, whereinan installer application implemented in a computational device receivesa command to install a test application in the computational device. Theinstaller application determines whether a selected port of a pluralityof ports of the computational device is to be blocked prior toinstalling the test application in the computational device. In responseto determining that the selected port is to be blocked prior toinstalling the test application in the computational device, theinstaller application blocks the selected port, installs the testapplication by binding a socket to the selected port of the plurality ofports, and tests functions of the test application by executing one ormore code paths of the test application, in response to installing thetest application.

In certain embodiments, the one or more code paths include a first codepath and a second code path, wherein the selected port is used in thefirst code path, and the selected port is not used in the second codepath.

In further embodiments, the selected port is unblocked, in response todetermining that the selected port is blocked. Functions of the testapplication are tested by executing the one or more code paths of thetest application, in response to unblocking the selected port.

In yet further embodiments, the installer application provides aninterface with selections to: block one or more ports of the pluralityof ports; list ports that are blocked in the plurality of ports; bindone or more sockets to corresponding ports of the plurality of ports;and, close the one or more sockets to the corresponding ports of theplurality of ports.

In certain embodiments, the plurality of ports are a plurality of TCP/IPports, wherein the socket is reservation on a TCP/IP port of theplurality of TCP/IP ports.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers representcorresponding parts throughout:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a computational device, inaccordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram that shows installation of anexemplary application in the computational device by an installerapplication, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram that shows installation of a testapplication in the computational device by an installer application, inaccordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram that shows first operations, inaccordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram that shows second operations, inaccordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram that shows selection operationsprovided by an interface, in accordance with certain embodiments; and

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a computational system that showscertain elements that may be included in the computational device ofFIG. 1, in accordance with certain embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings which form a part hereof and which illustrate severalembodiments. It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized andstructural and operational changes may be made.

In certain embodiments, prior to installing an application, a selectedport that may be needed by the application is blocked. The selected portthat is blocked is then assigned to the application during installation.As a result, installation and execution of the application may proceedwithout generating any error and no reinstallation of the applicationmay be needed. If the selected port is not blocked prior to installingthe application, and if the selected port is in use by some otherapplication, then installation and execution of the application maygenerate an error.

In certain embodiments, a tool that interacts with a user via agraphical user interface or a command line interface is provided. Theuser input may be a port number and the tool may bind a socket to theport indicated by the port number. The tool may maintain a list of allports that has a socket bound to the ports. At any time, the user canclose the socket and release a port. If the user attempts to bind a portthat already has a socket bound to the port, an error may be displayed.Users may not be allowed to exit the tool until all bound ports havebeen closed.

Exemplary Embodiments

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a computational environment 100that includes a computational platform 102, in accordance with certainembodiments. In certain embodiments, the computational platform 102 maycomprise any suitable computational device, including those presentlyknown in the art, such as, a personal computer, a workstation, a server,a mainframe, a hand held computer, a palm top computer, a telephonydevice, a network appliance, a blade computer, a storage server, etc.The computational device platform 102 is also referred to as acomputational device 102.

The computational device 102 includes an installer application 104 and aplurality of ports 106 a, 106 b, 106 n, wherein a port is a logical orvirtual data connection that can be used by programs to exchange datadirectly, instead of going through a file or other temporary storagelocation. In certain embodiments, the plurality of ports 106 a . . . 106n are Transmission Control protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) ports.The installer application 104 may install and test the functions of atest application 108 in the computational device 102. In certainalternative embodiments, the installer application 104 installs the testapplication 108 and another application tests the functions of the testapplication 104.

In certain embodiments, the installer application 104 may be executed inthe computational device 102 to generate an interface 110, such as agraphical user interface or a command line interface, for receivinginput from a user and for displaying results to a user. The interface110 may provide selections to block a selected port 112, list ports thatare blocked 114, bind a socket to a port, close a socket to a port 118,etc. The installer application 104 allows interaction with a user viathe interface 110. The installer application 104 and the interface 110may be integrated into a programming tool provided to a user, whereinthe programming tool is executed in the computational device 102 viainteractions with the user.

The test application 108 that may, be installed and tested by theinstaller application 104 may include a plurality of code paths, such asan exemplary first code path 120 and an exemplary second code path 122.A code path is a sequence of operations that may be executed when thetest application 108 is executed. For example, executing a certainbranch of a conditional operation in the code of the test application108 may cause the execution of the first code path 120. In an exemplaryembodiment, when the first code path 120 is executed a selected port maybe used by the first code path (as shown via reference numeral 124) andwhen the second code path 122 is executed the selected port is not used(as shown via reference numeral 126), wherein the selected port may beany of the plurality of ports 106 a . . . 106 n.

In certain embodiments, prior to installing the test application 108,the installer application 104 may block a selected port that is to beused by the test application 108. A socket 128 may then be bound to theselected port while installing the test application 108, wherein asocket is a reservation on a port. In certain embodiments, the interface110 is used by a user to receive information and provide input to theinstaller application 104 for blocking the selected port and for bindinga socket to the selected port. After the test application 108 has beeninstalled, operations of the test application 108 may be tested byexecuting the code paths 120, 122. While testing the test application108, a user may release the selected port by interacting with theinterface 110 while testing certain code paths, without reinstalling thetest application 108.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram 200 that shows a first exemplaryembodiment 202, in which an exemplary application 204 is installed inthe computational device 102 (shown in FIG. 1) by an exemplary installerapplication 206 in accordance with certain embodiments.

In the first exemplary embodiment 202, the computational device 102 mayinclude at least three exemplary ports, e.g. port X 208, port Y 210, andport Z 212. The exemplary application 204 may include code that usesport X 208 (shown via reference numeral 214).

The exemplary installer application 206 may block port X 208 beforeinstalling the exemplary application 204 (shown via reference numeral216). Subsequent to blocking port X 208, the exemplary installerapplication 206 binds port X 208 to a socket corresponding to theexemplary application 204 during installation of the exemplaryapplication 204 (shown via reference numeral 218). As a result ofblocking port X 208 prior to installing the exemplary application 204,errors that may be caused because of the unavailability of port X 208are not generated and reinstallation of the exemplary application 204 isavoided.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram 300 that shows a second exemplaryembodiment 302, in which an exemplary test application 304 is installedin the computational device 102 (shown in FIG. 1) by an installerapplication (such as installer application 104), in accordance withcertain embodiments.

The exemplary test application 304 includes a first code path 306 and asecond code path 308. In the first code path 306, an exemplary port23456 is in use (shown via reference numeral 310), and in the secondcode path 308 the exemplary port 23456 is not in use (shown viareference numeral 312).

The exemplary test application 304 is to be installed and tested by theinstaller application 104 (shown via reference numeral 314). Theinstaller application 104 blocks (reference numeral 316) port 23456 andthen binds (reference numeral 318) a socket to port 23456 to install theexemplary test application 304. After installation of the exemplary testapplication (reference numeral 320), port 23456 is bound to a socketcorresponding to the test application 304 (shown via reference numeral324), and other ports (shown via reference numerals 322, 326) may not beblocked.

The installer application 104 or some other application may be used totest the functions (e.g., the first code path 206) of the exemplary testapplication 304 (shown via reference numeral 328). Subsequently, incertain embodiments the installer application 104 may unblock port 23456by closing the socket to port 23456 (shown via reference numeral 330).The state of the ports after port 23456 has been unblocked is shown viareference numerals 332, 334, 336, 338. The installer application 104tests additional functions (e.g., the second code path 308) of theexemplary test application 308 (shown via reference numeral 340).

Therefore, FIG. 3 illustrates certain embodiments in which a selectedport that is to be used by an exemplary test application is blockedprior to installing the exemplary test application. After installing theexemplary test application, various operations on ports and sockets maybe performed via the interface 110 to test additional functions in theexemplary test application 304, without reinstalling the exemplary testapplication 304.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram that shows first operations 400, inaccordance with certain embodiments. In certain embodiments, the firstoperations 400 may be performed by the installer application 104implemented in the computational device 102 shown in FIG. 1.

Control starts at block 402, in which the installer application 104starts executing. The installer application 104 receives (at block 404)a command to install a test application 108, wherein the testapplication 108 may use a selected port in certain code paths executedby the test application 108. The installer application 104 initiates (atblock 406) a query (e.g., for a user via the interface 110) to determinethe identity of the selected port and to determine whether the selectedport is to be blocked.

The query to the user via the interface 110 may determine (at block 408)whether the selected port is to be blocked. If a determination is madeat block 408 that the selected port is to be blocked, then the installerapplication 104 blocks (at block 410) the selected port. The installerapplication 104 binds (at block 412) a socket to the selected port, theninstalls the test application 108, and then tests code paths in the testapplication 108. If a determination is made at block 408 that theselected port is not to be blocked, then control returns to block 404.

From block 412, control proceeds to block 414 in which the certain portsand sockets may be released. The installer application 104 binds (atblock 416) additional ports to sockets (based on user input via the userinterface 110) and tests additional code paths in the installed testapplication 108. No reinstallation of the test application 108 is neededwhile testing the additional code paths. Subsequently, all bound portsand sockets are released (at block 418) and the installer application104 stops (at block 420).

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram that shows second operations 500, inaccordance with certain embodiments. In certain embodiments, the secondoperations 500 may be performed by the installer application 104implemented in the computational device 102 shown in FIG. 1.

Control starts at block 502 in which an installer application 104implemented in a computational device 102 receives a command to installa test application 108 in the computational device 102. The installerapplication 104 determines (at block 504) whether a selected port of aplurality of ports 106 a . . . 106 n of the computational device 102 isto be blocked prior to installing the test application 108 in thecomputational device 102.

Control proceeds to block 506, wherein in response to determining thatthe selected port is to be blocked prior to installing the testapplication 108 in the computational device 102, the installerapplication 104 blocks the selected port, installs the test application108 by binding a socket to the selected port of the plurality of ports106 a . . . 106 n after blocking the selected port, and tests functionsof the test application 108 by executing one or more code paths 120, 122of the test application 108, in response to installing the testapplication 108.

Subsequent to the execution of block 506, the selected port isunblocked, i.e., released by closing the socket on the selected port,(at block 508), in response to determining that the selected port isblocked. Functions of the test application 108 are tested (at block 510)by executing the one or more code paths of the test application 108, inresponse to unblocking the selected port.

Therefore, FIGS. 1-5 illustrate certain embodiments in which prior toinstalling an application, selected ports that may be needed by theapplication are Hocked. As a result, installation and execution of theapplication may proceed without error and no reinstallation of theapplication may be needed.

It is understood, that the interface 110 of the installer application104 shown in FIG. 1 may be implemented via many different embodiments,FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram 600 that shows exemplary embodiments602 of exemplary selection operations, exemplary input operations andexemplary output operations that are provided and received via theinterface 110 of the installer application 104 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6also shows various selections that may be made by a user from theexemplary selections provided by the interface 110.

In certain alternative embodiments, if a selected port is already in useprior to installing an application, the interface 110 may be used torequest a user to designate an alternate port. In certain embodiments,sockets are bound to ports on an as needed basis as opposed toreinstalling an application. Embodiments provide a mechanism for codedevelopers and code testers to test any product that allows for userdefined ports and also provide mechanisms to check for the availabilityof ports.

Additional Embodiment Details

The described operations may be implemented as a method, apparatus orcomputer program product using standard programming and/or engineeringtechniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combinationthereof. Accordingly, aspects of the embodiments may take the form of anentirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,aspects of the embodiments may take the form of a computer programproduct embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) havingcomputer readable program code embodied there.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestoratze medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java*, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider). * Java is a trademark or registered trademark of SunMicrosystems, Inc.

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram that shows certain elements that maybe included in the system 700 in accordance with certain embodiments.The system 700 may comprise the computational device 102 and may includea circuitry 702 that may in certain embodiments include at least aprocessor 704. The system 700 may also include a memory 706 (e.g., avolatile memory device), and storage 708. The storage 708 may includeanon-volatile memory device (e.g., EEPROM, ROM, PROM, RAM, DRAM, SRAM,flash, firmware, programmable logic, etc.), magnetic disk drive, opticaldisk drive, tape drive, etc. The storage 708 may comprise an internalstorage device, an attached storage device and/or a network accessiblestorage device. The system 700 may include a program logic 710 includingcode 712 that may be loaded into the memory 706 and executed by theprocessor 704 or circuitry 702. In certain embodiments, the programlogic 710 including code 712 may be stored in the storage 708. Incertain other embodiments, the program logic 710 may be implemented inthe circuitry 702. Therefore, while FIG. 7 shows the program logic 710separately from the other elements, the program logic 710 may beimplemented in the memory 706 and/or the circuitry 702.

Certain embodiments may be directed to a method for deploying computinginstruction by a person or automated processing integratingcomputer-readable code into a computing system, wherein the code incombination with the computing system is enabled to perform theoperations of the described embodiments.

The terms “an embodiment”, “embodiment”, “embodiments”, “theembodiment”, “the embodiments”, “one or more embodiments”, “someembodiments”, and “one embodiment” mean “one or more (but not all)embodiments of the present invention(s)” unless expressly specifiedotherwise.

The terms “including”, “comprising”, “having” and variations thereofmean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specifiedotherwise.

The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of theitems are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expresslyspecified otherwise.

Devices that are in communication with each other need not be incontinuous communication with each other, unless expressly specifiedotherwise. In addition, devices that are in communication with eachother may communicate directly or indirectly through one or moreintermediaries.

A description of an embodiment with several components in communicationwith each other does not imply that all such components are required. Onthe contrary a variety of optional components are described toillustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the presentinvention.

Further, although process steps, method steps, algorithms or the likemay be described in a sequential order, such processes, methods andalgorithms may be configured to work in alternate orders. In otherwords, any sequence or order of steps that may be described does notnecessarily indicate a requirement that the steps be performed in thatorder. The steps of processes described herein may be performed in anyorder practical. Further, some steps may be performed simultaneously.

When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readilyapparent that more than one device/article (whether or not theycooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly,where more than one device or article is described herein (whether ornot they cooperate), it will be readily apparent that a singledevice/article may be used in place of the more than one device orarticle or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead ofthe shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or thefeatures of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more otherdevices which are not explicitly described as having suchfunctionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of the present inventionneed not include the device itself.

At least certain operations that may have been illustrated in thefigures show certain events occurring in a certain order. In alternativeembodiments, certain operations may be performed in a different order,modified or removed. Moreover, steps may be added to the above describedlogic and still conform to the described embodiments. Further,operations described herein may occur sequentially or certain operationsmay be processed in parallel. Yet further, operations may be performedby a single processing unit or by distributed processing units.

The foregoing description of various embodiments of the invention hasbeen presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the preciseform disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in lightof the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention belimited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claimsappended hereto. The above specification, examples and data provide acomplete description of the manufacture and use of the composition ofthe invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, theinvention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: installing, by an installerapplication implemented in a computational device, a test application bybinding a socket to a selected port of a plurality of ports, in responseto a blocking of the selected port; testing a first function of the testapplication by executing a first code path that uses the selected port,and subsequently unblocking the selected port; and testing a secondfunction of the test application by executing a second code path thatdoes not use the selected port.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thetest application is installed and tested, and wherein testing of thetest application includes testing the first function and testing thesecond function.
 3. The method of claim 1, the method furthercomprising: unblocking the selected port, in response to determiningthat the selected port is blocked; and testing the functions the testapplication by executing one or more code paths of the test application,in response to unblocking the selected port.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the installer application provides an interface with selectionsto: block one or more ports of the plurality of ports; list ports thatare blocked in the plurality of ports; bind one or more sockets tocorresponding ports of the plurality of ports; and close the one or moresockets to the corresponding ports of the plurality of ports.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the plurality of ports are a plurality ofTCP/IP ports and wherein the socket is reservation on a TCP/IP port ofthe plurality of TCP/IP ports.
 6. A system, comprising: a memory; and aprocessor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor performsoperations, the operations comprising: installing, by an installerapplication, a test application by binding a socket to a selected portof a plurality of ports, in response to a blocking of the selected port;testing a first function of the test application by executing a firstcode path that uses the selected port, and subsequently unblocking theselected port; and testing a second function of the test application byexecuting a second code path that does not use the selected port.
 7. Thesystem of claim 6, wherein the test application is installed and tested,and wherein testing of the test application includes testing the firstfunction and testing the second function.
 8. The system of claim 6, theoperations further comprising: unblocking the selected port, in responseto determining that the selected port is blocked; and testing thefunctions the test application by executing one or more code paths ofthe test application, in response to unblocking the selected port. 9.The system of claim 6, wherein the installer application provides aninterface with selections to: block one or more ports of the pluralityof ports; list ports that are blocked in the plurality of ports; bindone or more sockets to corresponding ports of the plurality of ports;and close the one or more sockets to the corresponding ports of theplurality of ports.
 10. The system of claim 6, wherein the plurality ofports are a plurality of TCP/IP ports and wherein the socket isreservation on a TCP/IP port of the plurality of TCP/IP ports.
 11. Acomputer program product, the computer program product comprising: acomputer readable storage medium having computer readable program codeembodied therewith, the computer readable program code configured toperform operations, the operations comprising: installing, by aninstaller application, a test application by binding a socket to aselected port of a plurality of ports, in response to a blocking of theselected port; testing a first function of the test application byexecuting a first code path that uses the selected port, andsubsequently unblocking the selected port; and testing a second functionof the test application by executing a second code path that does notuse the selected port.
 12. The computer program product of claim 11,wherein the test application is installed and tested, and whereintesting of the test application includes testing the first function andtesting the second function.
 13. The computer program product of claim11, the operations further comprising: unblocking the selected port, inresponse to determining that the selected port is blocked; and testingthe functions the test application by executing one or more code pathsof the test application, in response to unblocking the selected port.14. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the installerapplication provides an interface with selections to: block one or moreports of the plurality of ports; list ports that are blocked in theplurality of ports; bind one or more sockets to corresponding ports ofthe plurality of ports; and close the one or more sockets to thecorresponding ports of the plurality of ports.
 15. The computer programproduct of claim 11, wherein the plurality of ports are a plurality ofTCP/IP ports and wherein the socket is reservation on a TCP/IP port ofthe plurality of TCP/IP ports.
 16. A method for deploying computinginfrastructure, comprising integrating computer-readable code into acomputational device, the computer-readable code in combination with thecomputational device performs operations, the operations comprising:installing, by an installer application, a test application by binding asocket to a selected port of a plurality of ports, in response to ablocking of the selected port; testing a first function of the testapplication by executing a first code path that uses the selected port,and subsequently unblocking the selected port; and testing a secondfunction of the test application by executing a second code path thatdoes not use the selected port.
 17. The method for deploying computinginfrastructure of claim 16, wherein the test application is installedand tested, and wherein testing of the test application includes testingthe first function and testing the second function.
 18. The method fordeploying computing infrastructure of claim 16, the operations furthercomprising: unblocking the selected port, in response to determiningthat the selected port is blocked; and testing the functions the testapplication by executing one or more code paths of the test application,in response to unblocking the selected port.
 19. The method fordeploying computing infrastructure of claim 16, wherein the installerapplication provides an interface with selections to: block one or moreports of the plurality of ports; list ports that are blocked in theplurality of ports; bind one or more sockets to corresponding ports ofthe plurality of ports; and close the one or more sockets to thecorresponding ports of the plurality of ports.
 20. The method fordeploying computing infrastructure of claim 16, wherein the plurality ofports are a plurality of TCP/IP ports and wherein the socket isreservation on a TCP/IP port of the plurality of TCP/IP ports.